


Mystery March in Minecraft

by TtotheCofA



Series: Tales from Tempo [15]
Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: (I have a bad track record for not finishing these monthly one a day prompts), (I'm still burnt out on angst), (and all the ships that come within), (since I've had Minecraft on the brain for the past three weeks anyway), (so I'm doing my best to keep these fun and silly), (so I'm spicing it up by sticking to one theme through all of them), (some of these WILL be incredibly short), (when in doubt assume OT3), Gawain (Mystery Skulls Animated OC), Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:28:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 6,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29843577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TtotheCofA/pseuds/TtotheCofA
Summary: A series of short prompts written for the MysteryMarch2021 event over on Tumblr. In an attempt to spice up the event a little more (for me, personally), each prompt is themed around Minecraft.
Relationships: Arthur/Lewis/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Series: Tales from Tempo [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1363348
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Learning To Pick Your Battles

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt #1: Heal

“Please?”

“No.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“ _Please?_ ”

“ _No._ ”

“ _Please!!!_ ”

“ _No!!_ ” Lewis stopped sprinting long enough for Vivi to catch up and verify that the thing chasing them was still in hot pursuit before running again. “I _told_ you that I wasn’t gonna heal you if you antagonized the Pillagers, and what did you do? _You antagonized the Pillagers!_ ”

“They were a _threat_ to Chickenville’s citizens!” Vivi retorted as they hopped across the simple bridge that had been built across the river. “It had to be done!”

“Not like this!” Lewis scrambled to pull an Ender Pearl out of his inventory, and hastily dropped a few in his wake for Vivi to snatch up before he lobbed his own over the ravine that cut through the landscape. He teleported across the drop the instant the pearl touched the ground, and turned back just in time to see Vivi pop back into existence just a few blocks behind him. Across the ravine, the lone survivor of Vivi’s one-woman assault - an angry Ravager - had stopped, unable to pathfind around the gap to chase them down. Lewis sighed in relief, and Vivi sidled up close to his face.

“…please, Lewlew?” She tried again. “I’ve only got one heart left!”

“….fine.” Lewis grudgingly pulled out his stack of health potions, and counted out a few to toss over to Vivi. He never managed to hold out for long when she broke out the pet names, and she knew it. “But at _least_ promise me that you’ll take a Totem of Undying with you the next time you pick a fight with something three times your size.”

“Can do!” Vivi chirped happily before guzzling down the potions. Lewis sighed, and they began the long walk back to Chickenville.


	2. Fighting Evil by Moonlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #2: Music

Arthur carefully laid the last piece of redstone, and then scrambled back up his scaffolding tower to join Lewis and a dancing Vivi on the platform at the top.

“Sorry! Sorry,” He apologized as he emptied his hands. “I guess I’d missed a piece last night. But it should work perfectly now!” He scooted over on the platform, nudging Lewis towards a block with a button attached to the beginning of the massive noteblock contraption. “Go ahead, Lew. Press the button!”

“Hurry up and press it!!” Vivi continued her frantic dancing. “I can’t do my thing until Arthur’s does his!” Lewis laughed.

“Okay, okay, I’m pressing!” He faced he button and gave it a quick tap. A second passed, and then the mess of redstone dust, comparators, and note blocks began to light up, and play the opening theme of Sailor Moon. Lewis made a gasping sound as the notes played, and Vivi danced even harder out of excitement, hovering around a button of her own on the other side of the tower. “Arthur, this is awesome! How long did it take you to make this??”

“All night.” Arthur shrugged. “But I had Gawain help me transplant it all to this server once I’d worked everything out in the testing world, so that part only took about four hours.” He sounded like he was smiling, but Lewis couldn’t tear his eyes away from the screen to check. “I’m glad you like it!”

“I _love_ it.” Lewis insisted. Vivi froze in anticipation as the theme came to an end, and started to jump up and down. 

“Wait until you see my addition!” She crowed before smashing her button. In the distance, behind the last of the noteblocks, a series of dispensers began spitting out firework after firework. They burst in the sky in a shower of pinks and purples, and Lewis could hear Vivi laughing even from down the hall. “Happy Birthday, Lewlew!”

“We’ve got some physical presents for you, too,” Arthur added beneath the shriek of the fireworks. “But we’ve all been having a ton of fun with this game, so we figured we’d do something for you in here, too.”

“Aww, guys! Thank you so much!” Lewis danced a little bit, himself. He wasn’t able to hug his friends’ avatars in-game, but he could always do it later, when they came together in the real world. They deserved the biggest, longest, spine-crackingest hug he could muster for a gift like this!


	3. Into The Depths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #3: Alternate Universe
> 
> ~~It's AU from the original canon, so it counts.~~

“I still think this is a bad idea…” Arthur complained as they hiked deeper into the mysterious stronghold Mystery had sniffed out earlier that month. “What if there’s Endermen down here? Or skeletons? Or zombies?!”

“Arthur, stop.” Lewis placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder from behind. “You’re gonna freak yourself out doing that. We’ll be fine.” He paused to place a torch in a hole in the wall, further illuminating the dark staircase Vivi was leading them down.

“We’ve been preparing for this trip all week.” Lewis continued. “You upgraded your sword, I stocked up on potions, Vivi got a new shield, and we even got Mystery some iron armor.” From the front of the group, Vivi’s beloved wolf barked, having heard his name. “There’s nothing down here we can’t handle.”

“I hate it when you say that…” Arthur frowned as Vivi mined another few blocks ahead, searching for the stone bricks that marked the ancient stronghold of legends. At least they wouldn’t be short on cobblestone after this. “Tempting fate is never a good idea.”

“Guys! It’s here!” Vivi cheered as her pickaxe struck brick instead of pure stone, and Lewis quickly put down another torch to light up the area. Arthur adjusted his grip on his diamond sword as Vivi carved her way through the wall, and into the room beyond.

He had a bad feeling about this….


	4. Raining Ocelots and Wolves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #4: Storm

Lewis stared out through the glass panes at the rain pouring down outside, and frowned.

Down below, at the bottom of the hill, he could see Vivi still moving around on their farm, determined to finish her beetroot harvest before she came back inside. Mystery was sitting about halfway down the hill, miserable and wet, but determined not to leave his owner’s presence. Lightning lit up the sky in the not-so-distant distance, and a deafening clap of thunder shattered the peaceful quiet of their home. There was a startled cry from downstairs, and the clang of something being dropped.

“Lewis, did you hear that one?” Arthur came running up from the forge he’d set up in the basement. “That sounded close - like, _really_ close! Nothing in the homestead got hit, did it?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Lewis shook his head, still watching Vivi. “But these storms are happening more and more....if we can find enough copper on our next mining trip, we should probably invest it into a lightning rod.” Arthur came to stand beside Lewis at the window, and squinted down into the dark.

“Is-. Is Vivi still out there??” He asked incredulously. “It’s raining wolves and ocelots - why isn’t she inside?!” Another lightning bolt struck on the far side of the fields, and both boys winced.

“She wanted to finish the harvest, first.” Lewis replied with a sigh. At least Vivi was in the process of re-planting the seeds she’d gathered, now. “She said she was only one more stack away from being able to do some big trade with one of the farmers in town.”

“All this for a few emeralds...” Arthur shook his head disapprovingly, and started to walk away. “I’ll get the fireplace going, I guess.” He said over his shoulder. “I know Mystery will appreciate the extra heat, at least.” Lewis hummed in confirmation, but remained at the window, watching dutifully as Vivi started planting the last patch in her garden.

He was pretty sure they still had some rabbit stew left over from the night before. Once Arthur got the fire going, he could warm it up, and then they could all enjoy some warm stew before trying to sleep off the rest of this bad weather. In the distance, another lightning bolt struck, and an unfortunate tree burst into flames. Lewis jumped, and muttered a surprised curse under his breath.

Maybe they should prioritize finding that copper...


	5. The Dangers of Reading Enchanted Books Before Bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #5: Dream
> 
> ~~Could also count for 'alternate universe' if you squint.~~

_Something was...off...but Vivi wasn’t sure what._

_Vivi looked around the living room she sat in. The high ceiling stretched above her head, and the curved windows on the far wall looked out over a flat, grassy landscape, with some town on the horizon. There was a book in her lap, and Mystery lay curled up at her feet, just as he always did when they were relaxing. A pink fire was burning in the fireplace, and somewhere out of the room, she could hear Lewis humming._

_About to brush off her weird feeling as a fluke, Vivi looked down at the book to continue reading, and paused again. None of the words on the page were in the right order, and there were letters she didn’t even recognize! The pages felt strange - too floppy and soft - and the cover didn’t have the ethereal glow that all of her enchanted collection did._

_Cautiously, Vivi closed the book, and leaned forward to set it down on the (strangely long and oval??) coffee table. Mystery raised his head to look up at her, and tilted his head curiously._

_**“Are you done already?”** The dog asked. **“But you only just started!”**_

\---

Vivi’s eyes snapped open to a much more familiar ceiling of dark oak, and she sat up on the couch. Mystery - startled by her sudden movement - made a disgruntled sound before moving away and hopping up on a chair sitting nearby to curl up and resume napping. Vivi shifted to sit upright on the couch, and looked around the living room once more.

The unsettling sensation of something being ‘not right’ was gone, now. There was still a pink fire in the fireplace, and a book from her collection sitting on the (square) coffee table. It’s cover rippled with the usual glow, and Vivi snatched it up and opened it to a random page. She sighed in quiet relief at the familiar words and letters, and let the book drop to her lap.

“Is everything okay in there?” Lewis’ voice called from another room. “That was a big sigh for a short nap.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Vivi called back, closing the book and putting it back on the table. “Just had a weird dream, is all.” She stood up from the couch, and gave Mystery one last hesitant look before patting his ears fondly and leaving the room. “Is Arthur still down in the mines? I might go and join him, for a bit.”

“Okay,” Lewis replied, still busy with whatever creation he was making in the kitchen. “But try to convince him to come back up before sunset, will you? I don’t want another zombie jockey following him home.” Vivi shivered at the memory. Who knew that all you had to do to make a pig scary was put a rotting corpse on top?

“Can do!” She promised as she picked up her iron chestplate from the door. It never hurt to be prepared, when mining. “I’m, ah...I’m gonna leave Mystery with you, okay?” Vivi headed for the door without waiting for a reply. “I don’t want him getting lost down in the tunnels.”

“O...kay?” Lewis poked his head out of the kitchen just as Vivi left, and looked down at Mystery with a raised eyebrow. “Huh...I wonder what that was about, huh boy?” Mystery looked back, and offered a doggie sort of shrug. Beats him. Lewis made a thoughtful sound, but retreated back into the kitchen, and Mystery curled back up into his ball.

Now, to finish that nap...


	6. Parkour!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #6: Game

“That’s an awfully long jump...” Lewis mused out loud. Beside him, Gawain nodded sagely.

“That’s a good two or three blocks.” He agreed. “He’ll never make it.”

“Your confidence in me is _astounding_.” Arthur retorted from where he stood on a small platform in the middle of the floor. “Really. I’m just suffocating in the love.”

“You’re welcome!” Gawain chirped back with a grin. Lewis laughed, and Arthur rolled his eyes. He had to block them out and concentrate. If he backed up to the very edge of this slab and sprinted, he could bounce off the fence post, jump to the next platform, and jump to that ladder up to the checkpoint. He edged backwards, feeling the open air under his heels, and ran forward...

...only to fail to sprint, and fall a full block short of his goal.

“FUCK!” Arthur screamed as he plummeted down through the open floors of the tower. Gawain and Lewis burst out laughing from where they stood safely on the starting platform, but their glee was short lived when Arthur’s luck ran out. He landed on another parkour platform several floors below, and a message appeared in the game chat.

**[Arthur was impaled by a stalagmite]**

“...” Both players froze in horror, and slowly leaned forward to look over the edge of the platform. About five floors below, the offending platform - a short stalagmite meant to aid a quick hop across a deeper plunge - still had Arthur’s dropped prize from the previous floor floating on the edge of its supporting block. Gawain and Lewis slowly leaned back from the edge, and looked at each other.

“....maybe that’s enough parkour for today.” Lewis whispered. Gawain nodded mutely.


	7. Lore? In MY MSA Minecraft Server?? It's More Likely Than You Think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #7: Doubt

Sometimes, Lewis didn’t feel like himself anymore.

Which was silly, because he obviously _was_. Arthur and Vivi said so all the time! He still loved to cook, and still brewed the best health potions this side of Chickenville. Sure, some of the villagers looked at him askance, now, and Mystery sometimes shied away from his touch, but he was still _Lewis_.

The young man stared at his reflection in the cauldron water, silently tracing the seams where skin met inky darkness. It stretched over the left side of his face, encompassing one eye, and spreading down his neck beneath his armor - a very visual reminder that he hadn’t walked away from that stronghold completely unscathed.

It didn’t _feel_ different...in fact, it felt just like the rest of his skin. The transition from his normal skin tone to this new one was sharp, but seamless to the touch. Lewis let his hand drop to the side of the cauldron, and his thumb brushed the water, sending out ripples that broke up his reflection, and pulled him out of his thoughts. Lewis took a deep breath, and stepped back from the cauldron.

Vivi and Arthur would be back from the mines in a few hours. He needed to have dinner ready by then - they’d be exhausted, and ready to sit down to something warm and delicious after a long day of hunting for ore. Lewis headed back up the stairs, and tried not to react to the faint, magenta particles that sprang up in his footsteps.

Sometimes, Lewis didn’t feel like himself anymore...


	8. Thoughts of a Good Boy

Home had once been a forest, filled with towering trees of oak and birch, and a pack of eight others just like him. 

Now, home was only four others, and they were not like him. But they had a big shelter where it was always warm, and good food that they always shared. They fed him when he whined, and scratched his belly when he rolled over, even if they were busy. They took him on long walks around the village, and adventures beyond the walls, and down beneath the earth. With them, he had seen the ocean, mountains, rocks that burned without fire, and fantastical creatures that blinked away when barked at.

They protected him from danger with sticks made of stone and metal, and he returned the favor with teeth and claw. They called him ‘Mystery’, and he called them ‘family’, despite their lack of paws and tails, their dull teeth, and the strange words they spoke.

Home had once been a forest...but home was here, now, and here it would stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #8: Home
> 
> ~~This one is incredibly short. I had to do some impromptu traveling today, so I didn't have nearly as much time to write as I'd have liked.~~


	9. In The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #9: Trapped.
> 
> ~~This has evolved into a full-blown AU on the Tumblr send help.~~

He had left home in search of treasure, armed only with a map, a rumor, and three loyal friends.

Now he had no map, and no friends, and all the treasure he could have ever dreamed of...and he’d throw it all into the void if it would take him back to that little house on the lakeshore, with his friends still by his side.

Gawain vindictively took the last bite from the beetroot in his hand, and then tossed the remains over the side of the End ship to the void below. He kicked aside the empty shell of the Shulker that had once guarded the main deck, and rolled his shoulders to make sure that the Elytra he’d claimed from the ship’s treasure room was settled in place over the shoulders of his diamond armor.

Decked in diamonds from head to toe, and rippling with the glow of enchantments....god, what a sight he made. His childhood self would have been beaming - he’d once dreamed of having gear this cool. They all had...

....but it hadn’t been worth what he’d lost to earn that dream. ~~It never would be.~~

Stepping off the edge of the ship, Gawain let his weight of his find pull him down towards the void, and felt the Elytra open to catch him in a glide. He set his sights on the tiny cabin on the island in the distance, carved out from the endstone and purpur blocks scavenged from the cities, and began the long flight back.

He hoped they hadn’t returned while he’d been out. He knew it would take them a while to find a new stronghold, and a new portal to this damned place, but who knew how much time had passed already? There were no stars to track, here, and his clock had long since stopped working. If he were lucky, they hadn’t succeeded just yet, and he still had time to pull together all that he needed.

The armor set he’d found on this scavenging run made for three in total, all at full durability and strength. They might be a bit big, but anything was better than the iron he’d seen them wearing. He’d completed the dive tower last night (had it even been night?) and now that he had the last armor set, all he had to do was sit and wait for them to come back... _if they came back_.

Then, just maybe, they could all get out of here alive.


	10. Laugh Until It Hurts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #10: Mistake
> 
> ~~This one is a little vague on the prompt but at least I got it written, right?~~

“Oh my god, it’s nOT THAT FUNNY!” Vivi shouted up from the crater in the sand. Arthur only laughed harder, and had to lean against Lewis to stay upright.

“It’s-. It’s kind of funny.” Lewis wheezed, doing only a slightly better job of holding his composure. “You were just telling us to watch out for Creepers, and then you turned around and there’s one just over the hill...!” He broke off with another bout of laughter, and Vivi screamed in frustration.

They shouldn’t have been laughing as hard as they were. Vivi had almost died, after all - her trusty shield had broken in the blast, and the crater forming had disrupted the sand at the bottom, which had then fallen into the small pit it had been precariously hung over for god knows how long. Had the pit been any deeper, Vivi would have taken some serious damage. and might have even had to use her Totem of Undying.

But she hadn’t, and there were no other mobs crawling over the dunes to try and eat them, so they laughed until their sides hurt, and the tension in the air was gone.

Arthur finally managed to get himself under control long enough to pull a few pieces of a ladder out of his backpack, and toss them down to Vivi. Still grumbling, the woman threw the ladder together and leaned it up against one wall of the pit before slinging the remains of her beloved shield over her shoulder and starting to climb.

“We’re sorry for laughing.” Lewis apologized on his and Arthur’s behalf as they helped Vivi up out of the pit. Arthur was still trying - and failing - to stop giggling.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah...” Vivi huffed as she dusted off her pants, and stalked away from the hole, leaving Arthur to drag up and break down the ladder again. She’d most likely be laughing, too, in a couple of days. Hindsight was usually much funnier.

But for now, she was going to sulk on the walk home, and then, she was going to guilt-trip Arthur into fixing her shield. He owed her at _least_ that much, for laughing at her!


	11. What's In A Name?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #11: Name.

Lewis was used to Vivi bringing home strange things.

She’d come home covered head to toe in soot before, and a satchel full of magma creme. Another time, she’d disappeared into the woods for nearly a full day, and come back tired, disheveled, and carrying eight full jars of honey. Even before that, she’d made a habit of picking fights with slimes, and coming home covered in green goo that stuck to the carpets and didn’t wash out.

Lewis thought he’d seen it all, after all their time together.

But the wolf puppy was still a surprise. 

“You say you found him in the forest?” Arthur offered the puppy his hand to sniff. “We’ve been through that area dozens of times in the last month, and haven’t seen any other wolves. Where did he come from?”

“I don’t know.” Vivi shrugged, gently rubbing her fingers over the matted white fur. “But he looks like he’s been alone for a long time...look at this poor thing - he’s skin and bones!”

“Last winter _was_ pretty harsh...” Arthur frowned, and let his hand drop. The puppy had licked it a few times, but didn’t seem too interested in him beyond that. “Maybe there was a pack around here that just...didn’t make it.”

“I’m guessing you want to keep him?” Lewis asked rhetorically. Vivi would never have brought the little thing home if she didn’t plan on taking care of him to some degree. Vivi nodded enthusiastically, and Lewis sighed. “Well, he’s gonna need a name, then.”

“Oh, I’ve got that covered.” Vivi smiled. “His name is gonna be ‘Mystery’!” The puppy picked its head up to look at Vivi, and Arthur raised an eyebrow.

“Isn’t that a little on-the-nose?” He wondered. “I mean, he _is_ a bit of a _mystery_ , but-” The puppy suddenly started to bark, cutting Arthur off before he could finish, and Lewis laughed.

“I think that means he likes it.” He commented. Vivi gently scratched the puppy’s ears with one hand.

“Welcome home, Mystery.” She smiled. Arthur leaned back on his hands as the puppy began to wag his tail, and smiled a little. Alright, so maybe ‘Mystery’ wasn’t such a bad name after all...


	12. I'll Be There For You (When The Rain Starts To Fall)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #12: Friend.

Arthur didn’t have many friends.

Some of that was from a lack of trying - he just didn’t feel the need to try and make awkward conversation with strangers until they could decide if they actually enjoyed each other’s company. He had his uncle, Lance, he had his axolotl, Galahad, and he had the occasional letters his parents sent from the big city.

As far as he’d been concerned, those things had been more than enough.

.......

But then he’d met Vivi, and she’d decided that she liked him. She’d dragged him out of the house on adventures that - to his surprise - he didn’t hate. And she’d introduced him to Lewis, who was just too friendly of a guy to really even _be_ awkward with. 

Arthur found himself looking forward to the days when Vivi would bang on the shop door, armed with her trusty shield, and a wooden sword she’d carved just for him, to ask Lance if he could come along on her latest venture. Lewis was always right behind her, arms full of health potions and reassurances that they weren’t doing anything dangerous, and they’d be back before sunset. Lance, of course, always said yes on his behalf, for he liked how these exuberant new friends were getting his nephew out of the house more and more.

Arthur liked it, too, but he never said as much until, one night, they were camping out in the shop’s backyard, and Vivi told them about this mysterious map that she’d found, and a legend that had just enough evidence to be true.

She told them she planned to go alone, at first, because it would be dangerous, and probably take a long time to figure out. Lewis had been horrified at the idea, but Arthur had been the first one to argue that she wouldn’t be going alone - they’d be going with her.

Because friends didn’t let friends go on life-changing journeys alone, and maybe it was time he traveled a little further than the desert’s edge outpost.

Vivi’s smile had lit up the room more brightly than the lantern hung from the tent ceiling, and she’d practically tackled him in a hug. Lewis had joined in a few seconds later, huffing about how he obviously couldn’t let them leave without him (who would make sure they didn’t die?), and they’d stayed up all night, talking about what they might find on the other side of the ocean...

Whatever it was, it would be worth it, so long as he found it with his friends.


	13. Getting Out of the House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #13: Relax.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?” Arthur asked, still dutifully packing the various objects Vivi was handing him from the kitchen. “What if he doesn’t like the beach? What if it rains?? What if-?”

“Shoosh.” Vivi smushed a finger against Arthur’s lips to cut him off, and then passed him another wrapped sandwich. Arthur packed it automatically. “Everything is going to be fine, just watch!” The woman decided firmly. “You’ll get to spend some good old quality time with your long-lost brother, and _he’ll_ get to spend some time out of that basement (finally)!

“I’m packing enough stuff to build Lewis a quick rain shelter when we get there, just in case.” Vivi added when Arthur’s worried expression did not change. “It’ll be big enough to fit all five of us, so if it _does_ rain, we can just move the picnic under there and wait it out.” Arthur still frowned, and looked towards the kitchen as a black hand passed a small stack of plates out to Vivi.

“You’re on board with this, Lew?” He asked, just to clarify. There was a small rustle in the kitchen, and then Lewis appeared, holding a last few small things for the picnic basket.

“I’m not exactly eager to get rained on, no,” He handed the few things to Arthur, who packed them away. “But I think it would be nice to get out of the house, just for a bit. I know I’ve been, um...” He fidgeted. “ _Isolated_ , lately, and...I’m kind of sick of it, to be honest.” Vivi leaned over Arthur’s arms to lock the basket closed, and then hopped over it to head for the door.

“Artie, can you go grab your brother?” She asked. “I think he’s outside with Mystery. I’m gonna run ahead and get that shelter built for Lewis, so we can get straight to the fun once you guys catch up.”

“I-....okay.” Arthur dropped whatever he’d planned on saying as Vivi did, in fact, run out the door and down the path. He stood up, and stretched his back as Lewis picked up the packed basket in one arm. “Let’s pick up Gawain and Mystery and go.” He suggested as he headed for the still-open door. “By the time we get there, Vivi will have the shelter half-built, anyway.” Lewis laughed a little, and closed the door behind him.

“Yeah. She does work fast, doesn’t she?”

.......

Not twenty minutes into their beach outing, it did, in fact, start to rain.

But Vivi’s shelter was more than large enough for all of them, and Lewis was kept safe and dry, huddled in the middle of the shelter with Arthur on his right, and Vivi on his left. Mystery chewed happily on a bone as they all ate, and Gawain even laughed a few times at Arthur’s puns. The storm lasted for nearly an hour, and the waves crashing on Beach Chicken Shore were grey and gloomy, but the weather couldn’t dampen their cheerful mood.

“This was a good idea.” Arthur told Vivi as they sat, quietly watching the rain on the ocean. Vivi smiled, and lightly smacked his arm across Lewis’ lap.

“Told you so.” She laughed.


	14. You Don't Need Sunglasses to be Cool...But They Are a Nice Touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #14: Conceal.
> 
> ~~This one is a little vague, yeah, but at least I wrote something for today!~~

“There...how’s that?” Arthur asked as he backed away. Gawain sighed in relief, and let his shoulders relax.

“ _Much_ better...” He promised. Already, the sunglasses had cut the glare of the Overworld in half, at best. His head still throbbed and his eyes ached, but that would lessen with time. The cause of his constant headache, at least, was treated. “It’s like someone turned the brightness down by fifty percent. It’s _wonderful_.”

“Great...!” Arthur broke into a smile. “Then these should work for Lewis, too!” He picked up the second pair of sunglasses, and turned them over in his hands. He’d been worried when he made them - out of ten attempts, only these two had turned out right. If he ever needed confirmation that he was better at forging weapons than fashion, this was it...

“This should help him with his other problem, too.” Arthur muttered. Gawain wasn’t entirely sure he was meant to hear it. “I know he’s been going stir-crazy, staying cooped up in the house all the time.” Gawain frowned. Now he knew he wasn’t meant to hear _that_.

Ever since their escape from the End, Lewis had been spending almost all of his time inside the house - only venturing outside at night, or on outings that went out into the wilderness. He didn’t go to the village anymore - the villagers balked at his ender-side eye...a permanent mark from his time in the End that he couldn’t hide, no matter what gear he wore. Gawain, at least, could still walk down to the market and trade.

The only thing he’d taken from the End was a strange ability to teleport (never on command, and not very far, at that).

“I’m sure he’ll love them.” Gawain placed a hand over his brother’s, and smiled when Arthur looked up at them. “Why don’t you go give them to him, and ask him down to the market? I saw a farmer offering sugarcane there the other day - I know Vivi’s crop isn’t ready for harvest, and Lewis was complaining about being low on sugar the other night.”

“...yeah!” Arthur brightened up. “Yeah, I’ll do that!” He turned and hurried back across the forge, and up the staircase on the far side. “Thanks, bro!” He shouted over his shoulder. Gawain smiled fondly, and turned to head back into his own room.

The sunglasses wouldn’t be a perfect fix, for Lewis...and really, nothing would be.

But they would be a nice start. 


	15. Family Means Cheesy Movies and Homemade Snacks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #15: Family

Vivi threw herself over the back of the couch and somersaulted onto the cushions, narrowly avoiding the edge of Arthur’s popcorn bowl in her haste.

“It’s time, it’s time, it’s _time_!!!” She muffled her excited shriek into a pillow. Beside her, Arthur slowly shoved his handful of popcorn in his mouth, and chewed it.

“Vivi,” Lewis said, leaning over the arm of his chair to lower her pillow shield. “You’re at a 9. I need you to bring it down to at _least_ a 4.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Vivi tossed her pillow aside, and it landed on Mystery. The wolf gave her a very unimpressed look, and kicked the pillow to the floor. “It’s just - we haven’t done family movie night in so _long_! We have _so_ much _time_ to make up for!!” From the top of the stairs, Gawain watched as the woman practically bounced in her seat, and shook his head.

“I’ll leave you kids to it, then.” He turned to head down to the basement. “Try not to stay up too late, yeah? Don’t want the zombie’s spawning on the lawn again.” Arthur coughed, and quickly swallowed his mouthful.

“Wait, you’re not staying?” He frowned. Gawain paused on the first step.

“I mean...you said this was ‘family’ movie night,” He replied after a moment. “And I’m-”

“Family! Obviously!” Vivi cut him off. Gawain didn’t respond. “We’ve got you a chair, and a blanket, and look!” She reached forward and picked up one of the many snacks strewn across the table. “Sugar creepers! Arthur says Lance said these were your favorite!”

“....they are.” Gawain hovered on the step. “You...you guys really don’t mind if I join?”

“Would we have hunted down the recipe for - and then made - your favorite snack if we didn’t?” Lewis asked rhetorically. Arthur nodded.

“Yeah, bro. Grab a seat, so we can get started!”

“.....” A small smile crossed Gawian’s face, and he disappeared in a small puff of purple particles. He reappeared moments later in the last unoccupied chair, and Vivi gleefully snatched up the remote.

“Alright guys, what do we want to watch first?” She asked. “The classic _‘It Came From The Nether’_ or the more modern _‘I Loved A Spider Jockey’_?”


	16. In Loving Memory of Times Long Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #16: Haunt.
> 
> ~~More lore for the AU because I can never pass up an opportunity for worldbuilding.~~

This tiny valley had once been their favorite haunt, when they’d first arrived to this land.

The hills that rose up all around had been shelter from wind and rain, and hidden them from the eyes of roving mobs and Illagers. The trees had grown taller since he’d last visited, and the cabin nearby had started to fall into ruin...

But the memorial beside the creek bed still stood as tall as when they’d first built it.

The pillar of polished, blackstone bricks had been a joke, at first. Bill had first built it as a memorial to their old lives - ones governed by town walls, guard patrols, and needing to be home by sunset. Their new lives - filled with adventure and new discoveries and a feeling of freedom they’d never known - meant that none of them wanted to go back.

Now...that memorial was a goodbye to something much more somber.

It was a goodbye to Lizabeth, the potion-maker who used to sing from the crows nest in the early hours of the morning as they sailed across the see, and who danced with him on moonlit nights on the roof of their modest cabin to the music playing down below.

It was a goodbye to Bako, the farmer who’s fields had once stretched up and down the shore in waves of beautiful gold, and who used to bring home bits of rock and crystal from his mining adventures just because he thought they looked cool.

It was a goodbye to Bill, the toolsmith with a thirst for knowledge that rivaled the great scholars of their era, and who taught himself to speak Piglin just to learn more about this strange culture in the world beyond the portals.

It was a goodbye to the days when things were happy....to the days before his addiction to thrills had cost them all dearly, and to the days when he didn’t feel so crushingly alone in a house full of family. Gawain laid his hand on the smooth surface of the pillar, and slowly lowered himself to the ground.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered to the uncaring stone. “I’m so sorry...”


	17. *Endermen noises*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt #17: Headcanon.
> 
> Said headcanon being: Lewis and Gawain can teleport not just themselves, but others, too.

“Are you sure about this?” Gawain asked with his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Like, are you really, really sure?”

“This may have worked on items,” Lewis spoke up, thinking back to the furnace block, the bowl of stew, the dirt block, and the glass panes that they had tested before. “But we have no way of knowing that this will work with _living things_. What if you get hurt?”

“That’s a risk we’re willing to take.” Arthur said confidently. “Besides, something like a pig or a sheep can’t consent to the risks. We _can_ , and we _are_.”

“We’re only going to try this once,” Vivi added, placing her own hands over Lewis’. “And if _anything_ goes wrong, we stop, and we heal ourselves up until it’s all fine.” Lewis winced visibly at the idea of things going wrong. Health potions could handle a lot, yeah, but they had their limits, and this was _completely_ unknown territory!

“And if things go _right_...” Arthur spoke up, refusing to leave the conversation on a low note. “Then think of how _useful_ this could be! We’d never have to worry about escape routes again - you guys could just teleport us out of danger!” Gawain and Lewis shared a look, but didn’t respond. 

That would be a _useful_ skill...especially if they were caught out at night, and cornered by mobs, or trapped on the wrong side of a lava flow with no tools or blocks. 

“....just once.” Lewis relented first. Gawain still hesitated, but eventually sighed, and nodded.

“Just once.” He agreed. “If anything happens, we stop, and never do this again.” He placed both hands on his brother’s shoulders, and Lewis did the same for Vivi. “On three?” 

“On three.” Lewis nodded. “One...two...three!”

##  **_*vwoop!*_ **

Mystery’s ears sprang upright as the room was filled with purple particles, and all four of his people disappeared. Worried, the wolf leapt to his feet, and frantically circled the spot where they had been, only to stop when he heard a muffled shout from the rooftop above, followed by laughter, and another muffled,

“ _IT WORKED!!_ ”


End file.
